Johane Masowe weChishanu Madzibaba leader Emmanuel Mutumwa has denied allegations made by the Information Ministry Permanent secretary Nick Mangwana who tweeted that the sect was breaching lockdown restrictions by congregating on Sunday.
Mangwana tweeted:
An Apostolic sect group of men and women is gathered for a service at Selbourne Park in Bulawayo this morning. Church gatherings are not yet allowed; Zimbabwe Republic Police has been alerted
In an interview with NewsDay Mutumwa claimed Mangwana was misinformed and he was lying about them congregating when they are not supposed to:
What Mangwana said was not true, we respect the government and our people. There is no way we could hold services when we understand that gatherings were banned by the government as a measure to curb the spread of covid19 pandemic
The scene in the picture shows less than 10 people to be precise and I was there ready for depature. This is so disappointing because we did not hold any service and we were in Lupane by 10am. We have been doing a lot of donations since the beginning of covid19 lockdown
Mutumwa said they will pursue the matter legally because Mangwana tarnished their image:
We really wanted to pursue the matter in a formal and legal manner, because Mangwana tarnished our name causing unnecessary alarm and panic. However, as a church we agreed to let it pass, God will deal with him and the law shall take its course. And we hope Mangwana will be humble enough to issue an apology and set the record straight
Public gatherings are still prohibited as the President is yet to downgrade the lockdown to another level since he extended it indefinitely last month.
More: Newsday